Tales of Symphonia: A Confession?
by NsShadowSerpent
Summary: With the world at peace again after the restoration of Ratatosk's power, the gang decides to take a break from their battles at Altamira, at the request of Emil and Marta. Lloyd prepares himself for quite an interesting time with his fellow teammates…
1. A Vacation?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, Kratos and Noishe would have had alternate swimsuits. And Noishe would have been playable. Poor Kratos and Noishe…**

**Author's Note:**** This is a repost of my first completed story. Everything in it, aside from this updated author's note, the removal of review responses, and a little editing, is exactly how it was before. All other author's notes are from the original posting.**

**I originally finished this work back around 2009, but took it down for various reasons; one of the primaries for that was due to how I felt about the story's content. The pacing is poor, the plot is nonsensical, and the dialogue is awful. I've improved my writing and editing abilities a lot since then and the sulking hiatus, and it got me thinking:**

**Everyone has to start from somewhere, and the average person will not be perfect at something the first time they try. Taking the story down and trying to forget about how terrible my writing was and the lack of reviews only made me think about it more. It made me want to write more.**

**So here I offer "A Confession" again, in all of its terribly written glory. If anything, it will become something of a landmark I can use, comparing it to new stories I hope to write in the future.**

**Read, laugh, make fun of it, but most of all, enjoy.**

**Title:** **Tales of Symphonia – Dawn of the New World: A Confession?**

**Written by:** **NsShadowSerpent**

**Genre:** **Action, Adventure, Drama, Family**

**Rating:** **T**

**Warning:** **There will be much silliness. If you do not enjoy humor or are easily offended by laughter, leave now. You have been warned.**

**Story Summary:** **With the world at peace again after the restoration of Ratatosk's power, the gang decides to take a break from their battles at Altamira, at the request of Emil and Marta. Lloyd prepares himself for quite an interesting time with his fellow teammates… **

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><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION?<strong>

**A VACATION?: CHAPTER I**

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><p>It had taken some days to prepare for the trip to Altamira, with Lloyd and the others busy gathering their items, clothes, and other gadgets for a vacation that Regal had promised to both Emil and Marta after their victory against Richter. Marta had invited everyone else along, saying that Emil wanted all of his friends to join him to see the sights as well, since it would truly be his first time ever just sitting back and having fun for a change. Everyone, other than Emil and Marta, would have to pay though of course, as George made sure to mention. Excitedly, Lloyd began preparing early in the morning before the day when they would leave. According to Dirk, when he asked why, the twin swordsman muttered something about a certain blonde telling him the wrong time and being left behind.<p>

"I'm about ready to take off, dad!" Lloyd called from outside while preparing his assortment of equipment. He saddled them up to Noishe, who appeared to be sleeping still. Dirk stepped outside a few moments later, with a few other things in his arms.

"Leaving already, Lloyd?" he said. "Hope you're not in too much of a hurry to leave your old man behind again."

"Aw, dad come on!" Lloyd said, in the middle of tying a knot to secure his things around Noishe. The large dog-like creature yawned and lifted a leg to scratch behind its ears.

Lloyd gave the knot one last pull, and Noishe yelped a little. Lloyd sweat-dropped and quickly undid the knot, panicking.

"I'm only kidding. Here." Dirk held out the pack to the young swordsman, and he took it in both hands, holding it to his ears and shaking it.

"What's in it?" he asked, inspecting the package wrapped in light blue paper with a red ribbon around it.

"Just something I'm sure you'll need on your trip," Dirk said. "Don't open it until then now."

Lloyd nodded. "Okay, I got it." He tucked the package away in the pack on his back, and saddled up on the Protozoan. "Well, I'm off! Come on, Noishe!" He pointed a finger out forward toward their next destination.

"Lloyd!" Dirk called to him as he took off, "Always remember Dwarven Vow number one-hundred seventy-eight!"

Lloyd finally arrived at Triet a few hours later. He hopped off Noishe, and on instinct, the large dog-like creature immediately ran under an old building near the entrance for shade. Looking around, he caught sight of a certain blonde and raven haired ninja sitting and conversing on the bench outside of the inn. Sensing his presence, Colette perked up, the young woman waving and beaming at him in her usual cheerful demeanor. Lloyd smiled and waved back.

"Hey guys! It's been awhile hasn't it?" Lloyd greeted, walking up to the inn and leaning against a nearby beam.

"Yeah!" Colette chirped. "Yesterday, after you left my house after lunch, I thought tomorrow would never come!"

Sheena sighed, her head drooping a little. "_I guess one day is quite awhile for the both of them, huh…" _she mused.

"Sheena!" Lloyd flashed his cheery smile at the ninja. "How have you been?"

Sheena's cheeks turned a light pink tint. "Uh…I-I've been uh… good! How about you?"

"Awww… my sweet, voluptuous hunny is getting all embarrassed!" a voice spoke from just inside the inn.

"Shut up, Zelos!" Sheena turned around to face him, fuming. "And I thought you were still inside sleeping!"

"Yes, yes I was," Zelos said, coming out and closing the door behind him, "but even sleep isn't enough for this beauty." He looked around, and catching sight of the red clad warrior, he immediately perked up, more or so if that was even possible. "Lloyd! My bud!" Zelos ran over and tried to hug him.

"H-hey! Knock it off! It's good to see you too!" Lloyd said, struggling to get the red-head to control himself.

"Stop making a scene, Zelos," Sheena said. "We don't need any more unwanted attention, other than what we already get from you."

Zelos did a hair flip, arm still around Lloyd's shoulders. "Sheena's just jealous that she doesn't have the guts to glomp Lloyd like I do."

Sheena turned beat red. "Sh-shut it!"

After a few conversations here and there about what everyone had been doing since their last journey together, with some occasional teasing from Sheena, some cluelessness from Lloyd, some random out of the sky questions from Colette, some flirting from Zelos, and some bashing Zelos over the head for his flirting from Sheena, Genis and Raine finally showed up along with the Reihards they would be using to get to Altamira. The Half-elves greeted the others and together they arrived at their intended destination.

Genis jumped up. "Looks like the Lezereno company did some major renovations to this place. It looks even bigger than before!"

Zelos whistled. "I'll say. And speaking of major renovations…" He wandered off, toward the hotel to speak to one of the rather well-endowed bunny girls at the entrance. "Aren't those even bigger than before?" he asked her slyly, flashing his slick trademark grin.

The blonde bunny girl giggled and nodded.

Sheena tightened her fists at her sides, stabbing her fingernails into her palms until they were red. Lloyd approached her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Sheena, are you okay?" he asked. "You look like you're gonna explode."

Sheena relaxed and sighed, defeated. "I'll be fine…"

Colette piped up. "She's just about to explode with excitement!"

Genis shook his head. "Yeah… excitement." He rolled his eyes.

Raine's eyes just about bugged out of her head. She pointed to a mess of pink hair covered by a blue cap approaching them. She tried to stifle in her laughter, but failed miserably and held her sides, almost crying.

"Wahoo," the pink haired girl said.

"P-Presea? Is that you?" Genis managed say, which was quite impressive for him; usually he couldn't get anything else out when speaking to her other than her name.

The girl nodded. "Wahoo." She pointed over to the Elemental Railway. "Wahoo, wahoo."

Lloyd blinked and gave a tight smile, sweat dropping. "Um… Presea, what are you doing dressed like that, anyway? I thought you were done with that gig."

Presea sighed. "Wahoo. Wa…hoo. Wahoo!" She waved and flapped her arms, seeming as if she were trying to explain something, panicking.

Raine finished her laughing fit somewhat. "When she's in that uniform, it's a rule that she must only speak Klonoaian," she said, still giggling a little at the girl dressed in blue and black.

Presea nodded. "Wahoo." She pointed over to the inn. "Wahoo."

"What a rather… interesting rule," said Sheena, scratching her head.

"Presea says that after we're done checking into the inn to meet up with Marta and Emil at the Casino." Colette said.

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"She also says that Regal will meet with us later, and we can use the Elemental Railway to look at the new sights."

Sheena blinked. "Colette, you can understand Klonoaian?"

"Yeah!" Colette smiled. "Though, I don't think she necessarily said it in that order!"

Lloyd beamed at her. "That's amazing, Colette! Maybe you can teach me sometime!"

"Sure!" The both of them began walking to the inn. "We'll catch up with you later, Presea!"

Raine looked to Sheena. "I don't think Klonoaian is a real language, but to Colette I guess it could be."

Sheena held her hands up, shaking her head. "To Colette, the tooth fairy could be real."

The women sighed collectively and headed toward the inn.

"Thanks, Presea," Sheena called back to the uniformed girl. "Come to the inn when you're done with work."

Presea bowed. "Wahoo," she said, her pink pigtails bouncing as she saluted them and walked off to patrol the city.

Sheena walked past Zelos, who had been leaning on the gate with his eyes closed, as if he had been waiting for her. She turned around to look back at him over her shoulder.

"Are you finished, you philanderer?" she asked.

Zelos chuckled. "If you must know, The Great Zelos has taken it upon himself to request special reservations at the hotel for all of his friends. I'll make it a priority to make sure you thank me later personally."

Sheena wrinkled her nose. "Hm. Seems like there's always some ulterior motive with you."

Zelos waved a hand. "It's just you, Sheena, my dear." He looked at her over his shoulder as she had done to him, smirking.

Sheena _hmph_ed and turned, pink ribbons trailing behind and up the stairs. Genis came trudging along not soon after with his head down, still thinking about his candy-colored pink-haired love.

"She wants it," Zelos said to the Half-elf, nodding.

"What does she want?" Genis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Zelos dismissed him with a hand, ascending the stairs leading into the hotel.

Genis blinked for a moment, then followed in step from behind.

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED…<strong>

**Author's Note:**** I originally was only going to make this a one-shot, but I've began to like it. **

**It most likely will be a five part series. What do you guys think? Were they well in character? What was your favorite funny moment? I'm hoping their interactions are on par with how they normally are in the game. Well, until next time in Chapter II.**


	2. A Brooding Brother?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, it would be kind of weird that I was writing a fan fiction about it, wouldn't it?**

**Author's Note:**** Getting a bit more interesting to write. Not much to say, other than here's the next chapter.**

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><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION? <strong>

**A BROODING BROTHER?: CHAPTER II**

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><p>Lloyd stared.<p>

Genis stared.

Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows, looking as if he were deep in thought.

Genis's eyes twitched.

Lloyd wriggled his eyebrows.

Genis struggled to keep focus, then blinked.

"Ah ah! Yes! I win!" Lloyd stood up from the wooden table in the hotel's lobby, and did a victory jig. He pointed a finger at the Half-elf, who groaned and let his head fall onto the table, rattling a few cups. "I get the top bunk! Go Lloyd! Go Lloyd!" He sang and continued to dance as some bystanders stared at him, whispering amongst themselves.

Colette clasped her hands together, smiling. "You're amazing, Lloyd!" She stood up to dance with him, moving her body to the rhythm of a non-existent beat.

Genis lifted his head up, appalled, and standing up, slapped both of his palms on the table and pointed at the swordsman.

"That's not fair, Lloyd!" he said.

Lloyd stopped his victory dance with Colette mid jig, and looked back at Genis confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You picked a game that you had a clear advantage at! How am I supposed to compete with someone who has no intelligence in the first place? You don't even remember how to blink!"

"Hey! I can blink!" he said, offended. "See?" Lloyd leaned forward in front of his best friend, and blinked repeatedly, pointing at his eyes. "I can too blink!"

"You're only blinking one eye!"

Colette only put a hand over her mouth, giggling at the pair of friends as Lloyd struggled to blink _both_ of his eyes.

"Quiet, both of you! Stop being so loud! There are other people in here too!" Raine looked up from the book she was currently consumed in, yelling at the bickering pair of children. She was being just about as loud as they were herself.

Lloyd and Genis both cowered in the corner as Raine prepared to unleash her spanking fury on them with her large hard-back novel. A mystery novel involving a Great Dane and some kids, if you must know.

Sheena put a hand on the teacher's shoulder and pointed to the other people in the room. They were all staring at her strangely.

Raine blushed. "Excuse me," she said, bowing and being clearly embarrassed.

"Well..." Zelos began, walking away from the counter's receptionist toward Sheena and Raine, with Lloyd, Colette and Genis moving over to meet them, "I've got us our room keys. Here." He tossed a pair to Lloyd, and handed another pair to Raine.

"Hey, wait a minute," said Sheena. "There's only three pairs of keys! I thought we'd all be getting our own rooms."

Zelos chuckled and did a hair flip. "Nah. Turns out that they're all doubles. I guess I should have taken a second look at the coupons that beauty gave me." He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, giving it a lazy look. "Though, she did give me her address. Heh heh heh." He stuffed it back into his pocket, patting it in satisfaction.

Genis tackled Lloyd around the waist. "I'm bunking with Lloyd!"

Lloyd struggled and tried to get the silver haired boy to unlatch himself from his body. "H-hey! I got enough of that earlier from Zelos, Genis! Get offfa me!" Genis wouldn't let go though, and he and Lloyd rolled around the room, with more bystanders just staring at them with blank expressions on their faces.

Raine ignored them and poked Colette with her book. "I guess Colette and I will be sharing a room. Is that acceptable Colette?" she said, smiling at the blonde.

Colette beamed, nodding. "Sure! I have so much I want to talk to you about! We can stay up late, and eat fresh baked cookies, and share stories, and..." Colette trailed off, counting on her fingers as she listed the various activities she had planned for them to do together.

Raine gave a tight smile. "I don't think students normally do things like that with their teachers, Colette." She shook her head, holding her hands in a surrendering manner as the blonde continued to ramble on, oblivious.

Sheena's eyes widened, something clicking in her brain. She began to shake, stepping back from everyone else, her knees buckling underneath. "No... no! No! No! No! I won't do that!" she said, seeming as if she were going to have a panic attack.

Colette tilled her head in confusion, and Zelos looked back at Sheena in a bored manner. "Hm? What are you going on about, Sheena, my dear?" His arms were both crossed, and he lifted a hand to scratch his shoulder.

Sheena pointed at him, her outstretched arm shaking. "I'm not sharing a room with you! That's out of the question!"

Zelos turned to face her, feigning hurt and putting a hand over his chest. "Aw, come on! Why not? It's me, my hunny!" A sad expression held on his face, pouting at her.

Sheena stepped back, defensive, with both arms over her chest. "That's exactly why! Because it is you! You probably planned this from the start, didn't you?"

Raine looked at Zelos, catching crimson eyes with amber ones. "Now Sheena, I'm sure Zelos will be a gentleman. Isn't that right, _Zelos_?" she said, putting emphasis on his name at the end.

Zelos waved his hands in front of his face with a panicked look. "Hey, I'll be a gentleman!" he paused, then said, "A real... gentleman! Ha ha ha!"

Raine's book made contact with his head.

"Ow! Okay, Okay!" he said, defending his bruised cranium with his arms. "I won't do anything! Sheesh!"

Raine grinned victoriously at the Tethe'allan Chosen. "Good."

Sheena sighed in defeat, her shoulders slumping. "Why me, Martel... Why...?"

Zelos slid over to her in a flash and put an arm around her. "Hey, come on! I promise I'll behave! You can trust me! I'm as trustworthy as they come!"

Sheena snatched his arm and removed herself from him, turning around to face him a few feet away. "You just better keep your distance, if you know what's good for you... you... Zelos!" she said, unable to think of anything better to say. She yanked the keys from his hands and ran to the elevator, pressing the button to ride it up to her room. A scowl could be seen on the summoner's face, with her arms crossed over her chest as the elevator door shut.

Zelos sighed. "Ah well. There she goes again." He turned to face Colette, and she looked back at him.

"It seems like the both of you have been getting along better lately," the angel chirped.

"I don't think so," Zelos replied, digging in his ear. "She called me a Zelos. I'm really hurt."

"Well, that is your name, if I remember correctly," a short red-headed girl said, wearing a tan cap that looked much like a cream filled doughnut fashioned to her head. "I should hope that she would."

"Seles!" Colette exclaimed, catching sight of the Tethe'allan Chosen's sister as she approached them. She wore a simple blue and green evening outfit, with her trademark hand bag in tow in front of her.

"Hello, Colette." Seles waved to the blonde with a free hand and Colette approached her, reaching out to hug her. She almost made the petite girl topple over at the fierceness of the tackle-like hug. Raine blinked, chuckling a little.

"Yo, Seles." Zelos waved. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She turned to face him, bringing Colette around with her wrapped around Seles's small waist, still beaming. "I was just having a visit with Duke Bryant."

"Oh?" Zelos asked skeptically. "I hope you don't mind me asking why. Are you sure you should even be walking around like that?"

Seles sighed. "You don't need to keep worrying about me, Zelos. That's precisely why I came here in the first place."

Raine placed a finger to her chin, observing Seles and looking as if she were deep in thought. She made a small 'hmmm' noise. Zelos just shrugged.

"Apparently," Seles said, "Duke Bryant and the Lezereno Company have been working on a prototype medicine for a few patients with a certain illness."

Zelos nodded. "Yeah. So what about it?"

Seles sighed again.

"You're pretty clueless, Zelos," Raine told him, and Colette laughed.

Seles gave her purse and shoes to Colette suddenly, and the blonde stepped back away from Seles, giving the girl a large amount of space between them. Zelos just scratched his head, watching in silence as Seles seemed as if she were preparing to do something drastic. Lloyd and Genis had finished their spat, watching on the floor from afar.

Seles raised her hands high into the air, and pivoting off of the ball of one of her feet for balance, performed a cartwheel. Her dress came up a little as she did and she landed on both feet, and bowed gracefully. Some bystanders from afar clapped.

Zelos stared at her wide-eyed. "You super-glued your hat to your head? That thing is never gonna come off again if you do that, sis."

Everyone fell down, stupefied at Zelos's comment. Raine just shook her head.

"Man, Zelos. Come on! You're acting like Lloyd!" Genis blurted out.

"Yeah!" Lloyd piped up. "What the... Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Incredible, Seles! Zelos!" Colette grabbed his arm, pointing to Seles, who only stared at her brother with her hands on her hips. "Did you see that? Seles did a cartwheel!"

Zelos sweat-dropped. "Yeah, I did see that, my lovely angel." He walked over to Seles, stopped next to her. She looked up at him, smiling in victory.

"I'm only joking," he told her, being serious. "So, you're not having any trouble walking or breathing or anything?" he asked.

Colette lay Seles's shoes on the floor and handed her back her purse. Seles stepped into her shoes and hung her purse onto her shoulder.

"I'm fine, Zelos," she said. "You don't have to worry about me so much now, okay?"

Raine nodded, smiling at her. "I knew there was something different about you when you first approached us. I'm happy for you."

Seles smiled back. "Why, thank you, Miss Raine."

Zelos shrugged his shoulders, putting a hand to his chin and scratching it. "Well, if you say so. That's good..." he trailed off, musing.

Seles wriggled her eyebrows and tip toed so that she was eye level with Zelos. She poked his forehead with an index finger.

"You don't trust Master Bryant?" She asked in a playful tone, frowning. "And after all the parties that he invited you to!"

Zelos blinked, perking up. "What? Of course I trust him! I wouldn't have a reason not to, would I?"

She stepped back from him and turned around, clasping her hands behind her. "Good then," she said, walking towards the door quietly.

"Seles, wait!" Genis called, still attached to Lloyd's back from their previous wrestling match.

"Aren't you gonna stay with us here at the hotel?" Lloyd asked her.

Colette nodded, clasping her hands together. "Yeah! We're on a vacation!"

Seles scratched her chin, her back turned to them still. "Hmm..."

Genis, Colette and Lloyd looked back at her, waiting in anticipation for her response.

After a moment, she turned around quickly and smiled. "Sure. I suppose I could."

"Woo hoo!" Lloyd stood up and pumped his fists into the air, knocking Genis off of him. "Ahh!" Genis yelped, a loud thud being heard in the background as the half-elf's body made contact with the floor.

"This is gonna be some vacation!" Lloyd said, ignoring Genis who was rubbing his own rump in pain.

Zelos wrinkled his eyebrows at Lloyd. "I hope you're not planning on hitting on my little sister, Lloyd Irving."

Lloyd turned beat red and put a hand over his face, covering his forehead. "What? No way! Of course not!"

Zelos stepped back in shock, offended. "What? Why not? If you and my beautiful, darling sister got hitched, we'd become bros! I mean look at her!" He held out his arms over her figure for emphasis. "What's the matter with you?" he shouted, pretending to be angry at his bud.

Seles turned red, smiling in embarrassment. "Zelos!" she said, hitting him suddenly on the arm with her purse. He turned around to face her, holding his arm and chuckling.

"If you're staying with us, go back and get your things, Seles. Or do you need me to escort you back?"

Seles shook her head, sighing again. "I'll be fine, I can get them myself." She bowed in front of them all, her giant doughnut-like hat slipping downward a little. "I'll be back in awhile. Try not to have too much fun without me, Lloyd, Zelos." She turned and pushed the door open with a gentle hand and left.

"You act like a pervert, but I guess you really are a good person every now and then," A certain raven haired ninja called from afar. The gang turned to see Sheena standing at the elevator door way, a hand over her hip.

"Oh!" Zelos said, sounding surprised. "How long have you been standing there, my voluptuous hunny?"

"Long enough, thank you," she said, picking up a few bags from the lobby floor. She headed back to the elevator and pressed the up button again while struggling with a few things. She felt many pairs of eyes staring at her back in question, and slowly she turned her head to look at everyone.

"I left here in such a hurry," she began, answering the unspoken question, "I ended up forgetting most of my things." She scratched her head modestly, smiling.

Everyone toppled over onto the ground.

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED…<strong>

**Author's Note:**** All right. Some Seles screen time. **

**I decided to put her in here since she's gotten so little action in the games. She's a really interesting character, and I have no idea why Namco didn't include her more into the story. Makes me kind of sad. Well, it looks like the vacation is really heating up. I wonder what antics the Symphonian gang will get into next? Find out soon in Chapter III.**


	3. A Dire Situation?

**Disclaimer:****I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, during the scene where the player could tell the attendant at the wash tub boat ride about Regal, and the player told her he was interested in Presea, he would have obtained the title of "Loli-con King".**

**Author's Note:**** Not much to say here, either. Here's the latest installment.**

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><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION? <strong>

**A DIRE SITUATION?: CHAPTER III**

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><p>"What's taking them all so long?" Marta fumed, letting her arms dangle from the side of the bridge, "We've been waiting here for hours!"<p>

"Calm down, Marta," the blonde boy said. "I'm sure they're just running a little late. Maybe Raine found some sort of ancient ice cream machine or something, and they just got a little sidetracked? There's no need to go look for them or anything, right?"

Marta looked up to the sky and crossed her arms over her chest, thinking. "Ice cream, huh? That sure would be interesting… like… maybe…"

"_Professor, what's that?" Lloyd asked his teacher, pointing to a strange mechanical object buried deep in a mess of ice rock. Raine was crouched near it in the snow filled crater, wearing what appeared to be some type of archeologist's hat and vest. She dusted the item off with a small brush, touching it with her fingertips. She drooled a little at the sight of it, completely lost in her magnificent discovery._

"_Professor?" Lloyd asked again, while Presea strode next to him in the snow, almost covered to her waist in it._

_Raine whipped her head around to eye Lloyd dangerously, and a few snowflakes glided onto her hat. "What is it you say? How could you look upon this wondrous advancement of ancient technology and have absolutely no idea what it is?"_

"_Um… maybe because it's ancient…" Lloyd replied offhandedly, adjusting his yellow scarf around his neck._

"_Quiet!" Raine snapped, and Lloyd jumped back a little. "This is the remains of what appears to be an antique ice cream maker!"_

_Colette and Presea tilted their heads in question. "Ice cream maker?" they both asked in unison._

"_What is that, Raine?" Genis asked._

_Raine's eyes flashed. "I'm glad you asked that question, Genis!"_

"_Hey!" Lloyd exclaimed. "I just asked—"_

"_Lloyd, quiet down!" Colette grabbed his arm with her own mitten covered hands. "This is sure to be very educational!"_

"_Educational?" Lloyd blinked, scratching his head with a free hand._

_Raine stood, and began pacing back and forth in an instructor like-fashion, while Genis and Presea plopped themselves onto the snow to listen. _

"_You see, in ancient times, our ancestors would design various types of—"_

_Lloyd's widened, and he covered his ears by smacking both of his hands on his head, even though they were already covered by his red earmuffs. _

"_Oh no, not this crap again!" he screamed. "Arrrghhh!"_

_Raine ignored him and continued her history lesson, completely oblivious while Colette walked past her to get a closer look at the machine._

"—_Delicious treats were created, and sometimes they even used strawberries—" Raine rambled on while Genis and Presea continued to listen, with Lloyd drooling in stupidity from all the information that was being fed to his brain._

"_Professor, what is this lever?" Collette interrupted, tugging it with one of her hands._

"_Don't touch that, Colette! It hasn't been fully examined or tested yet!" Raine yelled, shaking both of her fists in the air at the blonde._

_Colette nodded and tried to step away from it, but she ended up tripping over the snow and falling head first on the leaver._

"_Whoops!" Colette exclaimed, and the machine began to make loud mechanical noises and shook violently. Raine panicked and ducked for cover behind a large rock with Genis and Presea doing the same._

"_Colette, run!" Presea called to the blonde from afar._

"_It's gonna blow!" Genis yelled._

"_Colette!" Lloyd yelled. He ran to grab Colette by the arm, trying to get her away from the clunkering machine, but it exploded only moments later._

"_Oh my…" Raine covered her mouth partly with her hand. _

_Genis only stared as the smoke from the explosion covered the area where Lloyd, Colette and the machine were. Presea poked her head out from the snow where she hid, to observe as well. Upon its clearing, Lloyd and Colette appeared to be fine, but they were covered by a strange type of colored __snow._

"_Lloyd! Colette! Are you both unharmed?" Raine asked, rushing to them and checking on her beloved students with Genis following quickly from behind._

"_We're fine!" Colette exclaimed, before looking back at her friend. "I'm sorry, Lloyd."_

_Lloyd shook himself off and Colette helped brush the remains off his clothing. "Man, Dad's gonna axe murder me if he sees this jacket covered in anymore of this stuff… It's hand stitched!" he grumbled._

_Raine examined the machine again. "Well, no harm appears to be done to the device."_

_Presea came to stand next to them. A strange glob of green suddenly fell flat on her pink wool cap with a loud splat. She stood as still as a totem pole, and after a moment, the ball of goo fell onto the snow by her feet._

"_What is this?" the pink haired-girl asked, looking at the strange mess in the snow. "Am I melting?"_

_Raine knelt down and placed her finger into the goo. She picked a bit of it up with her index finger, and tasted it, smacking her lips._

"_I'll protect you, Presea! I won't let you melt!" Genis said, putting his own cap on her head and hugging her tightly with both arms. _

_Presea only blinked._

"_Stop eating Presea, Raine!" Genis yelled. _

"_Could it be…?" Raine trailed off, still crouched to the ground with a hand to her chin, as another blob of green and blue fell to the ground. More blobs of green, blue, pink, and yellow began to fall from the sky, nailing a few birds flying over head as they squawked in frustration._

_Colette beamed, jumping up. "It's raining ice cream, everyone!" _

_Genis let go of Presea. "Is it?" he asked, looking up and around._

_Presea caught a blob of it in her palms and tasted it, offering some to Colette. Colette simply ate it out of her hands, smiling very silly like._

"_Yeah!" Colette nodded._

_Genis pointed at the sky. "And a few birds too, it looks like…" Two of the flying critters splatted to the ground, flapping to no avail. "Oh well." He shrugged and stepped on one._

_Lloyd cracked a smile. "No freakin' way! That's freakin' awesome!" Lloyd grabbed both of Colette's arms and they began to dance in the snow along with Genis and Presea._

"_It's raining ice cream! It's raining ice cream! It's raining ice cream!" they all chanted in unison._

_Raine brought both of her fists tightly to her chest, her trademark ruin mode smile creeping onto her face. _

"_What a marvelous phenomenon! I must record this event for future study! Surely this will go down in history books!" She whipped out a small tablet and a mana powered camera to recorded the mess of ice cream that continued to pour out of the sky._

_Lloyd suddenly stopped dancing, while Colette, Genis and Presea danced in a circle, holding hands. _

"_Hey, wait!" he yelled. "This stuff is gonna stain my clothes! My dad's gonna kill me!" He began a futile attempt to try to dodge the incoming ice cream. "Dammit! I can't break Dwarven vow number two-hundred three! Crap, crap, crap! Ahhhhhhhh!"_

"And then… everyone would be like…" Marta continued to tell her incredibly weird and awkward story, before shaking her head and snapping back to reality.

Emil blinked. "…What?"

Marta shook her head again. "Never mind," she said, sighing. "But still, they sure are taking their sweet time getting here… I wonder…" She slithered over to Emil and latched onto his arm like a swamp leech.

"Maybe they decided not to come meet us so we could have a romantic vacation together… just the two of us…" She rested her head on Emil's shoulder in a daze, before sighing contently and closing her eyes for a moment in pure bliss.

"What?" Emil asked, looking surprised.

Marta raised her head up from his shoulder and looked back at him, a sly smile on her face. "Or maybe you just told Lloyd and the others the wrong location so that we could have some alone time…" She made another small sigh and perked up before speaking again.

"Oh, Emil, you devil you! If that's how you really felt, you could have just told me, you know!" She squealed. "I would have understood!"

Emil chuckled nervously and tried to free himself from Marta's titanium love grip.

"OnsecondthoughtmaybeI'llgolookforthemafterall!" he said, freeing himself from Marta's grasp and leaving her in the dust. He ran down the bridge in a hurry, knocking a few passersby to the ground while they shook their fists at him.

"Watch it, you damn punk!" one of them yelled.

"Oh… you…! Emil!" Marta huffed and stamped her foot, watching the boy sprint off from her sight in the distance.

* * *

><p>The elemental railway slowly pulled into the small harbor, and quite a few attractive young women got on, giggling and waving to the President of the Lezereno Company.<p>

"Good afternoon, Mr. President!" a blue-haired woman called.

"Mr. President! Are you looking for a bride yet?" a woman with long straight red hair asked him.

"Mr. President, I'll have your babies!" a curly-haired blonde yelled.

The large, muscular blue-haired man waved a hand back with a gentlemanly smile as he walked by them.

A few of the girls on the railway sqweeed and fainted, falling over the boat and making loud splashes in the water as no one bothered to catch them. He shook his head and walked toward the casino dressed in his usual formal black suit, suddenly stopping when he noticed a strange white blur racing toward him at a breakneck pace. The blur made contact with his body hard, but Regal didn't flinch. He watched the figure stumble backward, holding its head painfully.

Regal swatted some dust off his tie. "Emil? Is that you?" He extended a hand to the boy, helping him to his feet. "Are you alright?"

Emil rubbed his head, wincing a little. "Y-yeah…" He dusted his white garb off with his hands, "Ow… It's like running into a brick wall…."

Regal chuckled and put his hands into his pockets. "I apologize." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you in such a hurry? The grand opening isn't until tomorrow, if I remember correctly."

"Oh, I was just running away from Mar—" Emil began, only to have himself interrupted by a screaming brunette racing hungrily after him.

"_EMIL_!" she exploded, and Emil went rigid in response, panicking and trying to hide behind the large man.

Regal stared blankly, and watched as Marta skid to a halt upon seeing him, leaving smoke and gravel trailing behind in her path.

"Good afternoon, Marta." Regal greeted the petite young woman. "How are you?" he asked, taking Marta's hand in his own and bowing.

"Regal!" Marta blushed, completely forgetting about her crazed stalker obsession with Emil. "Um… what are you doing out here? I thought you wouldn't be free until later this afternoon?"

Regal nodded. "Yes, I was just on my way to speak to you regarding that matter. There have been some strange disturbances occurring around the city today, particularly in the casino area. I came to investigate what the cause might be myself."

Emil poked his head out from behind the large man, looking up at him. "Disturbances? Like what?"

Marta sheepishly placed her arms behind her back, rocking from side to side. "I'm sorry, it's just that I get so excited when I'm around Emil, Regal! I can't control myself!"

Regal sweat-dropped. "That's not exactly what I meant. You see…" he said, before a small finger tapped his shoulder from behind. Regal turned, and looking down, he took notice of a mess of pink hair.

"Regal," it said.

Regal smiled. "Oh, Presea. I was just having a chat with Emil and Marta to inform them of the situation."

Presea nodded. "I see. I have finished escorting the rest of our guests back to the main island as well."

Marta and Emil waved to Presea.

"Hey, Presea!" Marta greeted.

"Good to see you, Presea," Emil said.

Presea bowed to them. "Regal. George needs to speak with you when you're done here. He says it's urgent."

Regal nodded, before continuing. "I understand. As I was saying earlier, there have been some disturbances in a few of the newly constructed areas in Altamira. For some reason, the island appears to be attracting an unaccountable number of monsters. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is, but I have asked that all visitors report to the main island immediately as to avoid any unnecessary danger."

"Monsters?" Emil asked nervously. "Where are Lloyd and the others? Are they safe? They're not hurt or anything are they?"

"Calm down for a moment," Presea said. "I told them that the both of you would be waiting here for them before I learned of the problem. I'll go back and tell them to stay put." Presea bowed again and turned to leave.

"Presea," Regal called to her, his back still turned, and Presea sighed.

"Wahoo," she said, and Regal chuckled.

"I think the situation might be serious enough for you to change out of that outfit for now, wouldn't you agree?"

Presea nodded, walking off.

"Now then," Regal motioned to Emil and Marta, "shall we investigate?"

"Where are we headed?" Marta asked, "I don't see any…" she trailed off, stopping mid-sentence and pointed to the sky. Regal and Emil both turned their attention to where her finger directed. The sky seemed to blacken a little, and the rumble of thunder echoed in the distance.

"That can't be too good," Emil noted. "I'm worried."

* * *

><p>A large crowd formed in the middle of the city, near the Altamira hotel, with people clamoring over one another and trying to get inside. It began to rain and thunder, making plenty of the visitors more nervous than before.<p>

"Well, this sucks," Zelos said, staring out of the lobby's window. "A thunderstorm means no beaches, and no beaches means no chicks… I'm so depressed." He sighed, tracing a raindrop with his finger on the window as it slid down.

"I'm pretty sure it's a sign," Sheena teased him, leaning on the glass window next to him with her forearm, and another hand on her hip.

Zelos blinked for a moment.

"Hmm… You know, maybe it is!" He perked up, and Sheena raised an eyebrow. He smirked and closed his eyes, wagging an index finger. "You and I are bound by fate after all," he said, flipping his hair. "Martel must have wanted us to get trapped in here together. Pretty romantic, wouldn't you say?"

Sheena stared at him. "Yeah, trapped here together with two-hundred other people." She pointed to the crowd of visitors sitting at tables and watching the weather outside from the other windows in the room. "So romantic, let me tell you."

"Well… our love could always use an audience! Heh heh heh!" Zelos laughed, only to earn himself a hard smack over the head from Sheena. "Ow!"

"I'm not into that kind of stuff!" she yelled, catching the attention of other people in the room. She looked back at them all red-faced for a moment, before slowly covering her face with her arms, embarrassed.

"Looks like Colette wins again, Lloyd." Genis sighed, slapping his cards face down on the table.

Lloyd did the same, propping his feet up onto the table. "I still feel like I've been cheated though, but I guess there's no rule about falling face first onto the table and messing up everything…" He sat back in his chair, sipping on a half-empty cup of fizzed out soda.

Colette scratched the back of her head with a hand, holding her cards in the other. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. I was only trying to reach for my drink!"

Lloyd shook his head. "I still have no idea how something like that is physically possible."

After a few moments, the doors to the hotel flew open, and in walked Presea, drenched from the rain. Her pink pig-tails were soaked and drooping, and she wrung them out, taking off her shoes and handing them to the receptionist at the booth.

"Are you alright, Miss Combatir?" the receptionist asked.

Presea nodded. "Will you take these?"

"Of course," she said, putting them away behind the desk. "Do you have a change of clothes?"

Presea nodded again, and walked over into the waiting room. Raine stood from where she sat, walking over to meet Presea as she made her way across the lobby floor.

"Oh, my. Presea, what happened?" she asked, taking out a cloth from her vest and kneeling down a little to dry the petite girl's face.

"Um…" Presea began, trying to speak out between all the wiping, "It's storming outside…"

"Presea!" Colette beamed, running over and hugging her, completely ignoring that she was getting herself wet too in the process.

"Colette… can't… breathe…" Presea wheezed.

Everyone gathered around in the waiting room to listen to what Presea had to say, after she finally changed out of her Klonoa outfit. She appeared from the elevator, looking very relieved to be out of uniform. It was obvious she had a small smile on her face, looking around at her friends who were waiting see her. She was pleased to see them as well, especially after so much time had passed.

"So, what's going on?" Sheena asked, lazily playing with an elemental card of hers.

"I'm interested as well," Raine said. "The weather appears to be very unusual, especially during this time of day. I believe there is a cause for concern for everyone on the island, am I correct?"

Presea nodded. "Yes. Regal has asked that all visitors and tourists in Altamira return to the main island for safety reasons. There has been an unusual change in the weather, as you have said, and information from the Lezereno company reports that there have been a rise in the number of monsters in the area.

"Where are Regal and the others?" Colette asked.

"He's gone to investigate the casino area along with Emil and Marta. He asked me to tell everyone to stay here for now."

Lloyd shook his head, jolting up from the table. "If there's a problem, then we can't just sit here and wait till something happens! I'm going to help them!" He started toward the revolving door.

"Wait a moment, Lloyd," Raine told him. "It may be best if we do as Regal says. Interfering may only make matters worse."

Colette tagged along with Lloyd. "Lloyd's right, Professor. What if something went wrong?"

Sheena stood. "I'm with Lloyd on this one."

Presea nodded. "I will accompany Lloyd as well."

Raine looked at Genis, and he gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Raine," he said, scratching his head. Raine sighed and brought her hands up in a surrendering manner.

Zelos put a hand on Raine's shoulder. "It looks like Lloyd's stubbornness is as contagious as always, huh?"

"Wait, what about Seles, Zelos? Shouldn't we wait for her?" Colette asked, and Zelos waved a hand dismissively.

"She should be back here any moment now," he said, walking over to one of the windows, crossing his arms.

"Are you sure?" Colette asked again. She seemed to be worried for her friend. Ever since Seles left, Colette would occasionally glance at the door, waiting for her to walk back in.

Zelos fidgeted and looked out the window, facing away from her. "Yeah…" he said, a little hesitant. "It's not like I'm worried about her or anything."

Sheena rolled her eyes. "So dishonest…" She looked to the door. "Oh speak of the devil, there she is now!" She pointed, and both Colette and Zelos whirled around in a flash.

"Where?" Zelos asked a little too quickly, and Sheena laughed.

Zelos and the others could make out two figures slowly approaching the door, one of them appearing to have a large object attached to the top of its head and another with long hair almost to its ankles. Zelos recomposed himself and tucked a hand underneath his chin rather suavely, before making his way to the door.

The revolving door spun, and in walked a very drenched Marta followed by Seles with a small black umbrella. They both stopped after noticing Lloyd right next to the door. Seles shook the umbrella off, wrapping it with its strap and tucking it back into her purse. She waved to Lloyd, Collete and Zelos with her free hand.

"Lloyd!" Marta exclaimed, out of breath. "Come down to the beach quick!"

"Marta?" he asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Marta panted for breath, resting both of her hands on her knees. "It's… Emil… and Regal…"

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED…<strong>

**Author's Note:**** I intended to make the ice cream scene a single paragraph, but then I got carried away with it and couldn't stop writing about it. **

**Marta sure has an overactive imagination, and can be quite scary when it comes to Emil. It looks ****the situation is getting pretty dire. Wonder what's going on with Emil and Regal? Find out soon in Chapter IV.**


	4. A Battle Royale?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, candy corn would be used as healing items instead of apple gels.**

**Author's Note:**** Well, here I am, finally updating this story after… what, over three months? Yeah, that's consistent. Talk about the longest cliffhanger wait ever. **

**I've been addicted to various other things, like writing my own original story "Mahou Shoujo Hanako Haru" on FictionPress, and watching Final Fantasy XIII. I say watching because it really is like an interactive movie, but it's fun nevertheless. I hardly had the drive to write this chapter when I started, but when I really got into it, I just took off. Anyway, it's been a long time coming, so if there's anyone out there that's been waiting for an update, here it is.**

* * *

><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION?<strong>

**A BATTLE ROYALE?: CHAPTER IV**

* * *

><p>Collectively, Marta, followed by the entire gang arrived on the scene at Altamira's beach. From afar and gazing out past the spectators that littered the area, the group caught sight of a rather large sea creature resembling an octopus, flanked by smaller ones. They appeared to be caught in between the beams of a rather large tower that stood near the beach, with some of them chasing after the other beach goers. The words "Lezereno Company" were labeled onto the tower, presumably being one of the newly constructed energy saving towers the company had been working on.<p>

There were still plenty of people outside; presumably to catch a view of the action and return to check on loved ones. Even though an announcement had been made to evacuate, several people remained behind.

Marta pushed through the crowd of people, and pointed from the top balcony below, rain soaking her. "Look, Lloyd! They're down there!"

Lloyd's eyes widened. "Man, there's a lot of them! What the heck's going on?"

Genis stopped next to them, almost getting shoved out of the way by a few taller adults. "It looks like they're attracted to that tower over there. What is that energy coming from it?"

Raine and Sheena stood back, checking the crowd of people who had escaped for injuries. A small girl cried while Sheena bandaged her small arm with some supplies she kept handy. She didn't appear to be hurt too badly. The little girl continued to cry while Sheena held her close.

"It's okay," Sheena cooed. "Everything's okay."

Colette gasped, cupping her hands to her mouth. "Emil! Regal!" she called to them both, and the others pushed past to get a look below for themselves. The two warriors were busy flailing away at a larger group of smaller octopus-like creatures. The creatures kept jumping at them both three at a time, each getting pummeled equally three at a time.

Lloyd balled his fists together in excitement. "All right! Come on, Marta!" he exclaimed, standing atop the single beam on the balcony and unsheathing his twin blades quickly. "I haven't seen any action for awhile!" He leapt over the rails, flipping and rushing toward the scene in a sprint. "Save some for me, guys!" he yelled, waving a sword into the air.

Marta watched from afar, blinking.

"You shouldn't run like that with sharp objects, Lloyd Irving!" Raine yelled, remembering an incident when he was younger.

"_Ahhhh! Professor Raine!" a young Colette screamed. _

"_Lloyd's gotten the scissors stuck in his forehead!" Genis yelled. "Again!"_

She cringed. Lloyd could hardly be trusted with a pair of scissors in class, so she had no idea why Dirk ever let him own a pair of swords.

"We have to help," Presea said, removing her axe from behind her back and pivoting off a rail from above with her hand. She hopped down below and landed on a single leg, rushing forward and dragging her axe in the sand with her from behind.

"W-wait for me, Presea! You'll need my help!" Genis ran after her from behind, obviously wanting to protect his love.

Colette willed her wings together, their pink and violet colors bursting forth from her back. "I'll get everyone else to safety!" She rose, flying past them in a flash, with the other group of people from atop staring at her in awe.

"How pretty!" A young girl clasped her hands together, watching the angelic blonde fly through the stormy sky. The aura from her wings shone brightly, catching a lot of attention and leaving behind sparkles that looked a lot like candy corn.

An older woman gasped. "It's the chosen of Sylvarant! She's come to save us!"

Zelos stared at the scene. "Those octopus things are gonna mess up the beach. There's goo and all kinds of stuff all over the sand. If they just ate, I _really_ don't wanna know what that stuff is."

Sheena smacked him over the head with a hand, still holding the little green-haired girl with an arm. The little girl had her arms latched around Sheena's neck, holding on tightly.

"Aren't you going to help?" Sheena asked, "Everyone else is going down there too!"

"Help, Zelos!" the little green haired girl pleaded, waving a hand at him.

Zelos sighed, not moving in the slightest bit. "What's the point? Presea and everyone else are more than enough." He looked to the little girl, crouching down to her level and smiling. He raised an index finger in front of his face. "It's not like there's any reason for me to risk getting this beautiful face damaged right, cutie? My handsomeness is very important! What will chicks have to look at if something happens to it?"

"Probably television, when they finally invent it." Sheena smacked him again with a free hand. "If that's how you teach children what's important, I'd hate to be the woman that marries you!"

Zelos raised an eyebrow, protecting his head with both hands and grinning. "Oh? Is that a proposal, my hunny?"

"Are you gunna get married, Sheena?" the little green haired girl asked, her train of thought flying right off the metaphorical Ferris wheel. "Yay! That's fun!" She clapped her hands, and Sheena turned beat red, flustered.

Raine eyed the Chosen. "Zelos, as second in authority to the royal family, you should be more than willing to lend a hand to those in distress, no matter the circumstance. Don't you want to help them?"

Zelos sighed again and dug in his ear. "They don't look like they need that much help, honestly. They're messing them up pretty good!" He pointed at Regal and Genis, watching the boy while he casted a lighting spell onto Regal, and the burly man planted a swift lighting kick in the tentacle to one of the poor creatures.

"Indignant Swallow Dance!" Regal yelled. It hit the pavement with a splat, sliding downward and leaving a trail of goo on a brick wall. It looked to be in a daze, twitching with rather large swirls patterning its eyes.

"See?" Zelos said, bringing his arms around his back in a relaxed manner. "There's no reason for me to help."

Marta smacked her hands onto the rail and leapt over. "Well, I'm going!" she called, running toward the battle.

Sheena looked at Zelos in disbelief. He shrugged to the unspoken question.

Raine only sighed in response to Zelos, grabbing her staff and watching. "_I suppose since he told Seles to stay behind, there isn't any motivation for him to do anything." _She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, and chuckled to herself. "_If he's trying to hide it, he's not doing a very good job. Staying back to keep an eye on the hotel…" _She turned back to watch the battle. "_A very overprotective brother, that's for sure. But, I guess I can relate…"_

Sheena stamped a foot. "Marta's going! Colette's helping too! And she isn't even the chosen of Tethe'alla, Zelos! You are!"

Zelos yawned, and Sheena looked as if she were going to throw a tantrum. Not that she already hadn't.

From afar, a trio of three rather well-endowed girls clad in only two piece bikinis cowered into a corner, while five of the octopus-like monsters creeped closer to them, preparing to attack. The girls hugged one another closely, squishing together and screaming. The water gleamed off of their bodies, giving them all an eye-blinding shine.

Zelos stared at them wide-eyed, barely able to keep his eyeballs in his sockets.

"_Kyaaaaaa_!" they screamed, hugging each other even closer together, "Someone help us!"

Zelos struck an elegant pose, and flipped his long crimson locks dry in the rain with a single hand.

"Have no fear, my lovely ladies!" he declared, pointing at himself. "As second in authority to the royal family, The Great Master Zelos is always willing to lend a hand to those in distress, no matter the circumstance!" He flipped over the rails above, and landed on the sand below, rushing to the girls.

Sheena and Raine stood from afar, sweat-dropping.

"Rising Falcon!" Lloyd cried, leaping into the air and diving forward with his blades pointed out in front. He cut though a horde of the octopus monsters, sending them all flying in different directions.

"Haha! Take that!" The red-clad swordsman laughed, though, he couldn't help but wonder why they were beaten with only a single strike.

Genis played clean up duty, zapping each one of the twitching creatures with a single finger, while Marta crouched down and tapped them each on the head lightly with the handle of her dual-spinner. It convulsed over on its back, X's pasted over its eyes.

"These guys… are kinda weak, huh?" he asked Marta while zapping another with a jolt, and it flew across the beach. "They're like balloons…"

"No kidding…" she replied blandly, blinking in disbelief.

Lloyd punted one with a light boot and it flew into the ocean. _Swish!_ "What the hell?" He threw down his swords. "I got all worked up and excited for this?"

"Lloyd!" Regal called, with Emil running after him from behind. "The smaller ones are only distractions!"

Lloyd blinked. "You guys were having trouble with these?"

Emil scratched his wet head. "Actually, they were a lot tougher before you got here. They were really huge!" The Knight of Ratatosk held out his arms to emphasis their mass.

Marta laughed at him. "Oh, Emil! You told me to run and look for help! If I'd have known they were this weak, I wouldn't have brought everyone with me!"

"That's because you were distracting me and I needed to get rid of you…" Emil whispered, turning his head to the side.

"_Emil! There's one over there! It's so gross! Eep! Don't let it touch me!" She jumped into Emil's arms, latching her own arms around his neck while he struggled to hold her. "Do something!" she yelled, wiggling her legs and squirming._

_Emil panicked, the octopus monsters edging closer to him. "I can't fight if you're holding on to me, Marta! Let me go!"_

_Marta held him tighter, choking him. "Don't let me go, Emil!" she screamed. "Save me!"_

Marta tilted her head, confused. "Huh? Did you say something, Emil?" Emil went rigid in surprise, shaking his head.

"N-no! Of course not!" he said.

Regal coughed, holding his raised elbow with a hand. "If I might have everyone's attention for a moment…" He pointed over to the large octopus monster stuck between the beams. "Our problem lies there. Originally, it appeared as if the marine life around here were attracted to our Lezereno Company's 'Green Tower'."

"Okay… so what? All we have to do is beat them up, right? That should be easy!" Lloyd said, but Regal shook his head. The red-clad warrior looked puzzled, scratching his forehead.

George appeared from afar, walking toward the group and weaving carefully over the mess of beaten octopus. One of them twitched and wrapped a tentacle around his ankle, and on reflex, he beat it with a shoe.

Repeatedly.

Everyone watched, clearly frightened, before he finished the deed and made his way to the group, panting.

He stopped next to them and everyone shrunk. "I apologize for that." He bowed. "Master Regal, it is just as we have suspected."

Presea nodded. "That large octopus's home is lying underneath the area where the tower is now."

Marta looked confused, throwing out both hands in different directions. "Wait. That doesn't make any sense. If that's where its home was, why didn't it pop out during the construction?"

"Giant squid around the coast of Altamira often hibernate for long periods of time due to lack of food around the area." Genis answered, presumably recalling information from a book. "The little ones go out to retrieve the food for them over a long period of time, and then bring it back to the big squid in their extra bellies."

The wheels in Lloyd's brain began to crank. "Oh, so that means when the little guys finally came back, the bigger one must have thought it was chow time and got stuck between the tower when it tried to come out, right?"

Regal nodded. "Yes, that's correct, Lloyd. You've certainly grown smarter, haven't you?"

Lloyd staggered backward, surprised. "Hey! Don't treat me like Professor Raine does!"

Genis continued. "The largest ones can influence the weather and the area around them when they're in distress. That's why it's raining and storming like it is now."

Marta looked panicked. "Okay, so we know the why. What do we do then? We can't move that big octopus without hurting it! That's not an option! It's a mother!" she cried.

Lloyd scratched a head. "We kinda beat up most of them already though, so I think it's a little late for that…"

Emil put a hand on Marta's shoulder, and she turned a head, surprised.

"If we can't move the octopus, then how about the tower itself?"

"Huh?" Everyone asked together, confused.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED…<strong>

**Author's Note:**** Looks like Emil has a plan to fix this awkward situation. **

**Will he manage to pull through in time? Or will Marta sabotage his efforts by becoming extremely jealous that the octopus is getting more attention from him than she is? Will Lloyd ever manage to run without getting sharp objects stuck into his head? Find out soon in Chapter V.**


	5. A Plan of Action?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, Zelos would obtain the ultimate title of "Pimp Daddy".**

**Author's Note:**** Looks like I was wrong about making it into only a five part series. Well, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION?<strong>

**A PLAN OF ACTION?: CHAPTER V**

* * *

><p>"The tower?" Regal asked, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "Hmm…"<p>

Lloyd pumped a fist. "That's an awesome idea, Emil!"

Genis shook his head. "No, that's stupid, Lloyd! How the heck are we supposed to move an entire tower? It would be trouble just moving that huge octopus in the first place!"

"He's right, Emil," Marta said. "That wouldn't be much better either."

Emil shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. Not really moving the tower itself, but more like breaking a part of it off enough just to free the octopus. Wouldn't that work?"

"The beams on that tower are made of one of the hardest metals on Aselia," George commented, looking at the large object from afar. "On top of that, the energy used surging through the tower only reduces its malleability."

Regal nodded. "It would be very difficult to break them apart, even less so bend them," he thought aloud. "But perhaps if we can find something harder, or someway to make it more vulnerable…"

"I have an idea," George said. "But I'll need some help from the young lady, Miss Colette."

"She went back to the hotel to make sure that everyone else got safely inside," Lloyd replied. "But she hasn't come back yet."

"If she is in trouble, then I will accompany you, George," Presea said.

"I'll leave it to you, George, Presea," Regal said, and George bowed along with Presea, taking their leave.

Genis had to control himself from wanting to go after her. "B-be careful Presea!" He just couldn't seem to win anything today with her at all.

* * *

><p>Zelos walked toward the group in stride, being completely flanked by the three hunnies he had rescued earlier.<p>

"Oh, thank you so much, Zelos!" the blonde said, her arms around his neck.

"Is there anything we can do to repay you?" the redhead asked.

Zelos gave them a flashy smile. "Now, now, there's no need for that. Just keep those pretty faces of yours pretty." He did a hair flip. "Now the three of you should get out of here. The Chosen has a city to save."

The blue-haired girl gave a squee. "Oh, Zelos!" She handed him a slip of paper before being drug off by the other girls. "Call me!" she yelled.

Zelos chuckled, slipping the paper into his pocket. "Works every time. Now all I need is some time before—"

"Zelos!" Sheena yelled, and he looked up in a flash, only to have the ninja give him a smack over the head as she landed next to him with a jump.

"Is now really a time for you to be flirting? Look around you!" She waved her arms behind her to emphasis the seriousness of the situation.

"I'm not flirting. I'm just managing damage control," he replied smoothly. "If all of the guys here end up kicking the bucket, who's gonna be left to repopulate the city?"

"There won't be anyone left after I _murder_ you!" Sheena blurted out. "Look over there!" She outstretched a finger, and from a short distance away, Seles came pacing forward, her hands on her hips.

"Seles? What are you doing here?" Zelos asked, rather surprised. "Didn't I tell you to stay back at the hotel?"

Seles huffed. "I can take care of myself Zelos. I'm not going to just sit inside while everyone else risks their lives. I'm going to help too even if you tell me not to." The red-headed girl tiptoed up to her brother's face. "I'm not just your little sister anymore, okay?"

Sheena looked moved. "Seles…"

Zelos chucked. "All right." He finally sighed, turning his back to her. "But I won't look after you. You'll have to take care of yourself then, alright?" He looked to the younger girl over his shoulder, smirking.

Seles's face reddened. "B-big broth… I uh…" She recomposed herself, crossing her arms firmly. "I mean, of course! I can take care of myself!" She turned away from him in the same manner he had done to her. "I am the Chosen's sister after all."

* * *

><p>"Man, they're getting tougher." Lloyd grunted, parrying the attack of an octopus monster with both his weapons. He caught a tentacle between his blades, before shoving them forward and throwing it off balance. "What the heck is going on?"<p>

"They seem to be draining the energy from the tower. They're getting bigger!" Genis noted, kicking another off of him and slapping it away with his Kendama. "If this keeps up, they'll over run the city!"

"I hope George is going to put whatever plan he has into motion soon, we're running out of time," Raine said.

"You can trust George. He'll come through," Regal assured.

"Beast!" Lloyd cried, shoving three of the enemies forward with a hard tackle. "Man, don't we have anything that we can use to distract these things with? To buy us some time?"

"Well…" Genis said, "They're only aggressive when in search of food. From what I've read, anyway."

Lloyd blanched. "They think we're food? No way! I won't be eaten raw!" He dodged an attack by ducking and rolling swiftly.

Genis blinked. "Would you rather be served fried?"

"I guess they think we're just in their way," Marta said. "Or maybe that we're going to harm their mother. There wouldn't be a reason for them to attack us otherwise."

"Well, there are too many of them! We need to think of something!" Emil cried.

"Raine!" Genis yelled. "What about that machine we left at the Lezereno company for repairs?"

Raine brightened. "That's a good idea, Genis!" She turned swiftly to Regal. "Is that machine still here?"

Regal nodded, punting another monster into the water while it tried to grab him by the leg. "Actually, it is. I'm not sure about using something like that to feed them though."

"Would monsters even eat that?" Lloyd asked.

"It's worth a try!" Genis piped up. "Where is it?"

"It's not far actually, It's at the end of the beach at a stand if I recall…" Regal thought, scratching his chin. "It's been used as a vendor ever since."

"Perfect!" Lloyd cried, pumping up a fist into the air. "Let's fire up the Ice Cream machine then!"

"Ice cream machine?" Emil yelled. "That thing is real, Marta?"

Marta gave Emil a sly look over the shoulder. "And you thought I was crazy…"

* * *

><p>"This is the central control room," George explained, guiding both Presea and Colette through the dark room. "Here we monitor Altamira and keep everything up and running smoothly. The Green Tower itself was created as a means of reducing power consumption by using alternate methods of energy. That way, less Mana is wasted in order to keep the city running."<p>

Colette clasped her hands. "It's so huge! I've never seen anything like this before! What does this do?" she asked, running over toward one of the large terminals in the center of the room. She reached a finger out to press a large button, before Presea swiftly caught her hand, pulling it away.

"Please refrain from touching any of the buttons, Colette," Presea informed.

"Oh!" The angelic blonde exclaimed. "I'm sorry."

Presea smiled a little, still holding her hand. The blonde's cheery demeanor was certainly contagious. She had been busy hoarding the majority of people back inside of the hotel to keep them off the streets, and when Presea and George had finally found her, she was busy looking after a group of children that couldn't find their parents.

"What do we need to do here, George?" Colette asked, and George pointed out of the window, motioning toward the very top of the tower itself.

"The generator that draws energy from the environment lies there. If we can remove it, we will have a better chance of being able to resolve the situation."

"It's so high up!" Colette exclaimed, shielding her eyes by placing both of her hands on top of her forehead.

"With the strength of your Cruxis Crystal to prevent the energy from affecting you, you should be able to pry it from its placeholder and stop it."

"Colette, you're the only one who can get close enough to it." Presea said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Do you think you can do it?"

Colette nodded. "Of course!"

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED…<strong>

**Author's Note:**** It's a short chapter, because originally it was supposed to be two. **

**What'd you guys think? Should poor Genis stop getting rejected? Should Zelos actually try to keep himself with only one hunny? Should someone buy something shiny for Colette so she'll stop being tempted to hit colorful buttons on computer terminals? Should I stop asking my readers pointless questions like this? Find out soon in Chapter VI.**


	6. A Last Resort?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, Raine's cooking would always give the player the poison status effect upon failure. **

**Author's Note:**** Nothing much to say for this one, except that we're almost near the end. Sit back and enjoy reading the next chapter guys.**

* * *

><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION? <strong>

**A LAST RESORT?: CHAPTER VI**

* * *

><p>"Woo hoo!" Lloyd screamed, throwing his hands out into the air as the drops of goo fell from the sky, plopping onto the sand. The monsters scurried up towards several of them, munching on the substance and consuming every last bit of it.<p>

Genis sighed, throwing his head down in disbelief. "I can't believe this is actually working…. What kind of monsters eat Ice Cream for crying out loud?"

Seles shook her head, crossing her arms. "Apparently these kind."

Marta laughed, "Oh my gosh! They're soooo cute, I could just hug them!" She waddled up towards one and held out her arms.

"Just a few minutes ago, you were screaming that they were gross…" Emil sighed. He often wondered about the inner workings of Marta's mind. Even though she was really strange at times, he couldn't help but like that about her. He smiled inwardly to himself, watching her.

"But that was before I knew they liked Ice Cream! Now we have something in common!" She grabbed a hold of one of them while it continued to eat. She laughed again, only for a blob of goo to splat itself onto her head. "Ack!" she wailed, and Emil chuckled, whipping it off of her with a hand.

"Ouch, brain freeze," said Zelos, scratching his head. "What's taking George and Presea so long?" he asked Regal, who seemed to be staring at the tower himself.

"The core of the Green Tower is just as sturdy and difficult to lift as the beams are. With Presea and Colette there, it will still take some time." He sighed wearily, rubbing his temples. "I have no idea why the company thought to make it so difficult to remove… I really need to speak with them about the budget of our future business plans…"

Lloyd pointed at the tower, catching sight of a blonde girl poking her head out of a window. "Hey, look! There's Colette! Coooolette! Hey!" he screamed, attracting all sorts of attention from other people to himself.

"Hey Lloyd!" she screamed. "Hey, hey! Lloyd! You look really small!" She peered out of the window to try to get a better look. "You're really, really tiny!"

Lloyd screamed back. "_Huh? I could have sworn I was taller! Did I shrink?_"

Colette yelled back even louder. "_I don't know! Be careful! Someone might step on you!_"

Nearly everyone who watched the ongoing spectacle sweat-dropped simultaneously.

"Those two…" Sheena face-faulted, slumping her shoulders.

"Are they really passing your class, Professor Raine?" Emil asked, chuckling.

Raine shook her head in a surrendering manner, raising her hands above her head. "Sometimes, I wonder myself…"

* * *

><p>"All right, Colette," George said, handing her some sort of remote like device with prongs attached to it, "This will help with turning the device off, but you need to be as close as you can get to it, and input this sequence of codes." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I never thought we'd actually need to turn the tower off… I really must speak to Master Bryant about the architectural structure of our future business facilities…"<p>

Colette proceeded to grab a hold of the top of the window and made a lift up toward the roof. Climbing upward through the rain, everyone else from below watched while Colette carefully made her way to the top. The octopus caught between the beams below started to move, shaking the tower and making the blonde girl topple, but she maintained her footing.

"Hang on, Colette," Presea whispered, poking her head out and looking from afar.

"Oh, man." Zelos clasped his hands together. "My darling angel is so brave, I think I'm falling in love all over again!"

Sheena sighed. She really couldn't win, could she? She was starting to feel as bad as Genis when it came to Presea.

Seles huffed. "Zelos, why didn't you go to help her? You're a chosen too, aren't you?"

Zelos backed up a little, shocked. "What? Of course I am! But she can take care of herself. She doesn't need old Zelos here to take care of her," he mused, looking up. "Though, I wouldn't mind if she did… heh heh heh."

"She doesn't need looking after?" Seles eyed him, and Zelos looked to be in thought. He remembered, and backed away a little more. She probably didn't need to hear that. She was trying so hard to show him that she could handle herself.

Zelos sighed. He really couldn't win, could he? He was starting to feel as bad as Genis when it came to Presea. Somehow, he felt as if everyone were comparing themselves to Genis's bad luck streak with the pink-haired girl.

Genis sneezed. "I think the weather is getting to me…"

"Need a tissue?" Marta asked him cutely.

The tower began to rattle more, but Colette had already made her way to the top. She fumbled with the controller in hand, using it to pry open the control box where the large green diamond-shaped generator lay at the top. She stumbled on her knees, almost losing her balance and slipping.

"Colette!" Lloyd yelled. "Man, she's gonna fall!"

Raine put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay calm, Lloyd. Presea and George are up there to help, too."

"Um… uh…" Colette looked at the controller, then back at the generator. She entered the sequence of codes and placed the controller prongs inside the box. It let out a shock, and Colette closed her eyes in recoil.

"Ah!" she screamed, a bolt nearly missing her. "I… I think I got it!"

Suddenly the generator began to shake uncontrollably, and multiple jolts surged from the box, one of them nailing the blonde and making her slip off balance from the tower backward.

Sheena, Marta, Emil and Raine stared, wide-eyed.

"Colette!" Seles screamed in concern for her blonde friend. "Colette!"

"Colette!" Emil screamed.

Lloyd yelled at the blonde. "Fly!"

Presea jabbed her axe into the wall of the tower outside and reached out of the window with her arm, the other holding on to the handle of her weapon. Colette continued to fall downward, and Presea managed to grab her arm with a small hand. She looked to be unconscious.

"Colette…" Presea grunted, "You've got to… wake up… I can't… pull you in…"

George ran toward the window's opening, poking his head out to watch from bellow.

"Mr. President!" he yelled, "The generator is off for the time being! Before the backup power supply returns, you must—"

"Understood, George!" Regal yelled back before he could finish. He turned to the others in the group, looking on as Presea struggled with Colette. "Quickly, everyone! We must freeze the tower before the generator's backup supply kicks in! Genis, Zelos, Marta! Give me a hand!"

Genis readied his Kendama. "Right! Come on, Seles!" he called to the red-headed girl as Zelos and Marta sped past him.

Seles pointed at herself. "Um…me?"

Genis ran after Zelos, calling back after her. "Of course! I've seen you fight! You can use ice magic too, can't you?"

"Y-yes, of course!" She paced herself after them, panting a little.

* * *

><p>"I'm… losing my grip… Colette… I don't think I can…" Presea strained, trying to keep the blonde from falling below.<p>

"She's gonna fall… I gotta do something!" Lloyd clenched a fist. Colette's arm finally loosened from Presea's grip, and Lloyd could only watch while the blonde fell.

Sheena looked panicked, she brought her hands in front of her preparing to summon, before recalling that the summon spirits could no longer be called forth at will due to them being set free.

"Dammit!" she yelled.

The red-clad swordsman let out a grunt of desperation, and suddenly, an extremely bright light burst from behind him, sparkling with brilliance as an unknown yet familiar force lifted him into the air once more…

"All right everyone! Focus!" Regal called his crew to attention after they all positioned themselves at the base of the tower. "Freeze this tower with everything you've got!"

The magic team poured every ounce of their magical energy into to their spells.

"Absolute!" Genis cried, raising his Kendama into the air.

"Freeze Lancer!" Seles yelled, bringing both of her hands in front of her firmly. A magic circle formed at her feet, and she poured out all the strength she could muster. She panted heavily, sweating, though it was hard to tell through the rain that soaked the casting comrades.

Zelos threw a single hand forward. "Freeze Lancer!" The icicles jabbed themselves into the tower, the area around them penetrating and freezing the beams they hit. He had to thank Seles. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have ever learned a single ice spell. He was grateful she decided to teach it to him, even if it was only out of boredom.

Presea gasped, watching the girl continue to take a long plunge below. In a flash, she disappeared from sight. Her body was completely gone. She hadn't hit the bottom, so where on Aselia was she?

Raine's gaze was focused into the sky above, and everyone else looked upward. A magnificent pair of large rainbow colored wings spread forth from Lloyd's back, flapping and sending transparent feathers to the world below. Colette stirred in Lloyd's arms. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

"L-Lloyd…?" she gasped. "Lloyd… I'm sorry… you have to keep coming to save me…"

The warrior shook his head, speaking to her softly. "You dummy. I keep telling you to stop apologizing…"

* * *

><p>"Whew!" Genis breathed a sigh of relief. "Colette's safe." He plopped his bum onto the sand below. Watching the tower crumble in certain spots, the octopus was breaking free, and some of the beams began to fall off of the tower. The smaller ones on the beach stopped eating, making their way to meet their mother.<p>

Zelos sighed. "Man, that Lloyd's such a show off!" He laughed. "If only I had something that flashy, then I'd really get noticed for sure! Hey, Seles!" The red-headed chosen turned to her, smiling. "Nice job… I guess you really can take care of yourself, can't you?"

Seles looked at him out of the corners of her eyes, smiling back at him. "Of…of course…" She panted, "I'm… I don't… need… you to…" She looked to be rather weak, and Zelos held a look of concern on his face.

"Hey… you okay?" he asked.

Sheena turned her head. "Seles?"

His question was answered with the sound of Seles's body almost hitting the ground, with Zelos catching her before she could fall. Emil and the others ran to her in concern, worried.

"Seles! Are you alright? Seles!" He looked panicked, holding her while she continued to wheeze heavily. He jerked his head to Regal.

"What gives? I thought you had Seles on some kind of experimental drug?" He blurted out. "Wasn't it supposed to help cure her?"

Regal knelt next to her in concern, confused as well. "A drug?" he asked, "I don't recall ever administering something like that to Seles, or anyone else. Did she tell you something?"

"What?" Zelos asked in surprise, and Seles grabbed the color of his shirt, getting his attention.

"I…" She wheezed, still holding onto him by his shirt, "I lied to you, Zelos… I wanted…. just for once… not to have to… depend on you…" She gasped again. "I wanted to show you… that I could take care… of myself… just… this once… …."

Zelos only listened without saying a word. Sheena knelt beside them, holding Seles's hand with her own.

Raine wavered her staff over Seles's body, attempting to heal her as best as she could.

"I didn't… want… to be a burden on you… anymore… I'm… sorry…" She breathed heavily, closing her eyes while the healing aura enveloped her body.

"Seles…" Marta whispered.

"Is there a hospital or anything nearby?" Emil asked in a panic. "It's dangerous to have her stay here like this!"

Raine nodded. "Agreed. The longer she says out here, the more her condition will worsen. My healing artes are limited to external injuries. A doctor is best for her."

Sheena nodded solemnly. "Zelos… if you can't then I don't mind goi-"

Zelos stood up with her still in his arms, shaking his head and surprising the ninja. "No, I'll take her." He chuckled a little, "She's always acting like she's so tough, always trying to show me up. That's little sisters for you."

Regal looked up, catching sight of Lloyd still in the sky, then he looked back to the tower where the octopus still seemed to be trapped. The structure was crumbling, and if something wasn't done soon, it could fall downward on to them.

* * *

><p>"Lloyd!" Regal called, and Lloyd nodded in understanding.<p>

"What's happening, Lloyd?" Colette asked, now a float next to him.

He unsheathed his swords, bringing them closely together. "It looks like there's no other choice. We gotta hurry, and for Seles, too. Colette, can you help me?"

"Of course, Lloyd." She smiled, and focusing, Lloyd formed both of the Gagnrad weapons into a single shimmering blade. Colette took a hold of the hilt along with Lloyd and he grinned back.

"Well, it's not the Eternal Sword, but this seems familiar, huh?" He laughed, looking into Colette's bright sapphire eyes in the the rain.

Colette giggled softly. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" she said, looking back at him. Her translucent wings shimmered brightly along with his.

"Ready? We''re gonna finish this in one blow!" He and Colette brought the weapon far above their heads, facing the tower with a determined look.

"Ready!" Colette chirped.

"All right then!" The blade began to glow bright, and everyone from below looked above at the otherworldly shine.

"We'll show you…" they began, their voice in sync with each other, "Divine Justice!"

Silently, the entire beach became engulfed in the translucent purple light…

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED…<strong>

**Author's Note:**** That was pretty long, but fun to write. I really kinda winged it. **

**It was so hard putting so many characters into this scene; I think I may have left a few people out at certain parts. I'm so tired, and it's late. What'd you like about the chapter? **

**Anyway, next chapter is the finale. What exactly is the "Confession?" Where the heck did Noishe go? Will Seles manage to pull through? Will it be up to Zelos to repopulate Altamira by himself? Check out the next and final chapter of "Tales of Symphonia: A Confession?" soon, and see the conclusion.**


	7. A New Bond?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, then I would have added a bunch load more side quests and made the game a heck of a lot longer for people to enjoy.**

**Author's Note:**** Chapter VII was actually going to be over thirteen pages, so I had to shorten it and split it into two separate chapters. The writing bug strikes again. Anyway, here's part one of the finale, I guess.**

* * *

><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION? <strong>

**A NEW BOND?: CHAPTER VII**

* * *

><p>"Help!" Zelos cried, slamming the door shut quickly behind him and pressing his body against it. "Someone call the Papal Knights!" Loud bangs could be heard from the other side, the constant beatings making Zelos bounce off the door with every pound.<p>

"Zelos, I'll kill you!" an angry voice bellowed from the door. Zelos laughed uncontrollably, holding the door shut and clutching his sides.

Lloyd and Genis came walking down the large hallway where the sets of hotel rooms were. The Half-elf noticed the red-head from afar, and raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"What did you do?" Genis asked.

Zelos continued to chuckle. "What do you mean?" Another pound on the door made him bounce up. He held Sheena's pink ribbon that she always wore around her waist behind him. "Why is it every time Sheena yells people think it has something to do with me?"

Lloyd grinned deviously. "Because it always has something to do with you!"

Zelos laughed. "Yeah, I guess you caught me. But it's not what you think, all right?"

Genis shook his head. "That's what those side characters in books always say before they end up getting killed. And by the looks of things, you're running out of time." He pointed to Zelos's feet, and the Chosen looked down, water seeping from the crack in the door at his feet.

"Oh man, looks like I gotta fly!" Zelos gave them a salute, dashing down the corridor and heading downstairs. The door burst open and a gush of water flew out, with Sheena running out in nothing but a white towel.

"Zelos? Where are you so I can strangle you?" she yelled, whipping out a water elemental card.

"Hey, Sheena!" Lloyd waved, and she turned her head swiftly.

"Have you seen that idiot Chosen?" She asked, flipping yet another card into her hand and readying it dangerously.

Lloyd and Genis shrinked. "N-no…" they both replied.

"But… um, Sheena?" Lloyd said. "You might want to put something else on before you go running downstairs, people might see you like… you know…" Lloyd trailed off, and Sheena stared at him blankly, confused.

She paused and looked at herself for a moment, then back at Lloyd. Her face reddened profusely.

"L-Lloyd!" she exploded, dropping her cards and holding her towel closer to her body. "You pervert!"

"H-huh? What? Wait a sec! I didn't!" Lloyd tried to defend himself, but Sheena advanced on him.

"Uh… wait for me, Zelos!" Genis bolted down the stairs, ditching Lloyd.

A loud slapping sound was heard in the distance.

* * *

><p>"Ow…" Lloyd rubbed his bruised cheek with a hand while walking into the hotel lobby. A large red hand print was painted on his face. "I don't see how Zelos can withstand that on a regular basis…"<p>

"Hey Lloyd!" A familiar blonde waved to him with a hand frantically, catching his attention.

He waved back, and caught sight of her not in her normal clothing, but instead in a rather stunning looking swim outfit. It was rather nice looking; a brown silk-looking sarong with dolphin print on it covered her lower body, and she wore a simple white top with a lovely seashell necklace. She had her hair tied back into a single ponytail that sat to a single side of her head. It was very cute, and the look defiantly suited her.

"What's up, Colette?" he asked, and the girl grabbed his arm, eager.

"The clean-up on the beach is finished!" she said, barely able to keep still. "Oh, and Regal finally opened that new place in the hotel already, so we can go inside!"

"New place?"

"Yeah!" she said, tugging on his arm twice. "Come on, let's go together! Hurry!"

Lloyd chuckled. "All right, all right!" He paused for a moment, thinking. "Hmm… actually, I can't go yet. I need a swimsuit. I can't go out looking like this."

The sound of footsteps echoed into the lobby, and in walked a troubled looking Genis. Colette waved to him, and he brought a hand up waving with a little less enthusiasm.

"Genis!" Lloyd yelled, pointing a finger at him. "You traitor! You ditched me and I caught the beating of my life! I'm gonna—!"

Colette cut him off, sensing Genis's distress. "What's wrong, Genis?" she asked. "You look down."

"Um…" Genis fidgeted. "I need to find Zelos. Can you help me look for him?"

"Huh?" Lloyd asked. "What for?"

Colette brought a finger to her chin. "Actually, we need to look for him too. We'll help you!" She tugged on Lloyd's arm bringing him with her and grabbed Genis's hand with her other. "Come on!" She exclaimed, and together, they trailed behind her.

* * *

><p>A knock on the door stirred Seles out of her sleep. She wiped her eyes groggily and blinked. Another knock, this time softer.<p>

"C-come in…" Seles said, a little nervous, and the door opened in a flash revealing Zelos, standing rather proudly in an exaggerated pose.

"Ah! It looks like my cute, darling little sister is finally awake!" he exclaimed, closing the door behind him. "Get a good night's sleep?"

Seles only stared at him, and Zelos continued to grin. Seles grunted, narrowing her eyebrows.

"You're only this happy when you've done something you shouldn't have," she stated. "Who did you harass? Sheena?"

Another point for the team. Zelos sighed. He couldn't get away with anything could he? He really needed to learn not to be so predictable.

"Man, what is it with everyone today? People always assume I did something! It's not like I saw anything!" he blurted out.

"I guess that answers my question." She smirked, and Zelos blinked for a moment, before realizing he told on himself.

"Man…" he sighed, beating himself up in thought.

Another knock on the door. Seles peered past Zelos to get a look.

"Come in," she said.

In walked Lloyd and Colette, with Genis in front, looking down a little. Colette waved, and Lloyd closed the door behind them all.

Zelos raised an eyebrow at the Half-elf. "What's the matter twerp? Looking for Presea?"

"Um…" Genis began, "I wanted to apologize to Seles."

Wow, Zelos thought. Genis must have felt pretty bad if neither of his insults phased him. He sighed and chuckled inwardly.

"Apologize about what, Genis?" Seles asked, confused. "You didn't do anything."

"B-but I did!" Genis blurted out, "If I hadn't told you to come with us and help, you never would have gotten hurt! It's my fault that happened to you in the first place! And, I—"

"No, it isn't," Seles said, adamant.

Genis shook his head, making his way past Zelos to her bedside. "But—"

"Enough brat," Zelos said, bonking him lightly on the head with a fist. "If Seles says isn't your fault, it isn't your fault."

Seles smiled at him sincerely. "It's not." She looked away, out toward the window in the corner of the hotel room. "My body… is weak," she said. "It's always been like that since I was younger. I wasn't very good at sports because of my condition, and I couldn't make very many friends, either. I got teased a lot."

Zelos took a seat on the other bed across the room, lying backward on his hands.

"I always pushed myself though. I always wanted to do better, just enough so that people would think of me as someone who could be independent. Someone that other people could rely on. But…"

Genis listened, looking at the floor in frustration. Lloyd crossed his arms, and Colette took a seat on the floor next to Zelos's bed.

"But…" She began to tear up, shaking her head and wiping them away, "I'm always relying on other people instead. I'm always depending on my brother, or the priests or teachers…" She paused, sniffling. "I just wanted… I wanted have those qualities… so I could make friends… but I can't even be a friend myself…. I'm just… worried about what I want… I'm just… selfish…"

"No!" Colette shouted, surprising Seles and standing up. She grabbed a hold of her hand, bringing it close to her chest. "That's not true, Seles! You helped us! That's not selfish at all!"

Lloyd nodded. "Friends are people who worry about you, people who stick their necks out for each other when in trouble, and people who can rely on others when they can't do things for themselves. Didn't you do all of those things for us?"

"Colette… Lloyd…" Seles blinked through her tears.

Genis grinned. "That sure does seem like friend-like qualities to me, Lloyd."

Zelos got off the bed, making his way to the door. He knocked on it, and awkwardly, something on the other side knocked back. He pulled it open, and in came tumbling Sheena, followed by Emil, followed, by Presea, followed by surprisingly Raine, followed by Marta, and Regal, standing in a gentlemanly manner like always.

Regal adjusted his tie. "Good morning, Chosen."

Zelos shook his head. "See, Seles? These guys are worried about you. So much that they'd rather spy on us rather than just ask to come in."

Sheena struggled underneath the mess of bodies. "We do care Seles, don't get me wrong… but I'm also here to pummel your brother to a pulp!"

Raine tried to get to her feet, palming the head of Emil rather roughly and he groaned. "Don't get me wrong either…" Raine said, "But I honestly have no idea how I ended up falling. I think I was pushed…"

Marta whistled nonchalantly.

Colette gazed at Seles through her sapphire eyes, catching hers. "We're your friends, Seles. Aren't we?"

Seles started back at the blonde for a moment, before smiling and blinking again through her tear stained eyes. She didn't utter a word, but only nodded happily, and Colette smiled in response.

Zelos waved a hand. "All right, all right. Enough with the sappy stuff. What did all of you guys come here for anyway? I'm sure I can figure out what my bud and Colette want… Sheena too, but what about the rest of you?"

Regal cleared his throat. "I just wanted to stop by to inform everyone that the newest area of the Altamira hotel, our spa room, has been completely renovated. The opening is today, so feel free to enter whenever you'd like."

Marta clasped her hands. "I'm so excited! I couldn't wait for Regal, so I had to come and tell someone about it!"

Emil pointed to Marta. "She drug me with her. I didn't have a choice! My arm hurts! And my head…"

"It's rather lonely to be kept in a room by yourself," Presea said, "We wanted to know if you would like to accompany us as well, Seles."

"I would like to… but…" Seles began, and looked to Zelos.

He nodded to her. "The doc says you're free to walk around, but try to take it easy, all right?"

"Okay…" Seles nodded hesitantly in response.

"All right!" Lloyd pumped a fist. "We're going then! …uh, well after I get a swimsuit…"

Zelos perked up. "A swimsuit?" He looked to be in thought, and then he snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, that's right." He grinned, waving everyone with a hand, "If you'll excuse us guys, I need to talk to my bud and Miss Angel here." Everyone nodded and did some bowing, before making their way to exit the room in whatever fashion they felt was most comfortable.

"We'll be waiting for you all downstairs!" Marta said, with Genis leaving the room behind her. "A spa! Ooooh!" She grabbed Emil by the arm, dragging him out of the room along with her. "I can't wait! Won't this be fun Emil?"

"Y-yeah!" he stammered, throwing a panicked look over his shoulder to Lloyd as he left, and the red-clad warrior chuckled.

Sheena stood at the doorway staring at Zelos, her arms crossed. Zelos looked back at her, puzzled.

"What's the matter, my darling Sheena?" he asked.

"We have some unfinished business to take care of, sweetie," she replied sweetly, motioning to him with a single index finger.

Zelos chuckled, stepping towards her slowly. "Oooh… Is it the kind of business I think it is?"

Sheena cracked her knuckles, smiling. "It is whatever you think it is, darling."

"Hang on a sec," Zelos said all of a sudden, and Sheena blinked at him, confused. Running over to the second closet in the room, he rummaged through it. He pushed through a mess of clothes, fumbling for something.

Sheena shook her head, putting her hands on her hips. "If you're trying to sign a will before I knock you senseless, you can forget it."

"Why would I keep my will in the closet?" he grunted, and he turned around, holding a rather elegant looking two piece swimsuit, with a marvelous Mizuhoian design.

Sheena looked completely shocked, and Colette giggled.

"Well?" he asked, grinning. "What do you think? It's pretty snazzy looking if I do say so myself, heh heh heh."

"Z-Zelos… it's…" Sheena was at a lost for words.

"Zelos didn't want you to know, so he asked me if I wouldn't mind trading rooms with him," Colette said. "If I would have asked you about your measurements, or kept messing with your clothes, you probably would have found out about it.

"I heard my hunny could have used a better swim suit from my lovely angel, so I had it custom made and modeled the look after Colette's," he said, handing it to the ninja by the hanger.

It looked amazing. Decorated with her familiar pink ribbon, the purple outfit consisted of a single purple top with Mizuhoian symbols imprinted into the fabric along with a similar bikini bottom, and for modesty's sake a delicate blue silk looking sarong hung over it, to be used as a pretty cover up for the legs.

Zelos gave a cheeky smile. "Those hunnies I helped on the beach the other day were more than happy to add the design onto the fabric. As for the sarong, that was Lloyd's idea. I thought it was nice touch."

"It's… it's amazing," Sheena said, looking up at Zelos in disbelief.

"_I'll make it a priority to make sure you thank me later personally."_

"_Hm. Seems like there's always some ulterior motive with you."_

"_It's just you, Sheena, my dear." _

Sheena turned it around again, smoothing it out over her to see how it would look. "So, what is this going to cost me? I know you must want something."

"How about we get to see what you look like with it on, Sheena?" Seles asked, and Colette clasped her hands.

"I'm sure we'd all like to see that!" Collete beamed, "That would be good enough, right Zelos?"

Zelos grinned. "That'll do. Though…" he mused, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "I wouldn't mind to see what she'd look like without a swimsuit too—Ow!" he yelped, getting a rough smack over the head from Sheena.

"I knew it!" she yelled, pointing a finger at him. "Well, I'm going!" She headed towards the door, before stopping and grabbing the outfit and heading back again.

"Thanks, Lloyd, and Colette. That was thoughtful of you both," the ninja said. She looked to Zelos, and grinned at him.

"Thanks, Idiot Chosen," she said, taking her leave.

"Man," said Zelos, rubbing his head, "I'm gonna need to start bringing a helmet whenever she's around." He clapped his hands, looking at his bud. "All right! So my bud needs a swimsuit too huh?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't happen to have anything that us poor folk could wear, could you?"

Zelos chuckled. "Yeah I wouldn't mind letting you use something of mine. A pair of shorts or something…" Zelos stopped rummaging in the closet for a moment before turning around.

"My bud's gonna be wearing my underwear!" he said, clenching a fist. "Our brotherly bond will be even closer than before!"

"H-hey!" Lloyd yelled, red in the face. "I didn't say anything about borrowing your underwear!"

"What? Don't you realize how many people would jump at the chance to wear one of the Great Zelos's undergarments? It's everyone's greatest dream!"

"It sure as hell isn't mine!"

Seles and Colette looked at each other, before giggling at the pair of fuming friends.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED…<strong>

**Author's Note:**** That Zelos. **

**He's always up to something that seems devious, but you just get that feeling that he's a good guy, somewhere down there past all of that obnoxiousness. It looks like things are finally drawing to a close. The next chapter is the finale. Until then.**


	8. A Confession?

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, well, I probably would be pretty rich. And talented. Maybe good looking too. Probably not.**

**Author's Note:**** All right, once again, not much to say here, but here's the finale. I'm both sad and excited, because I sort of don't want to see it end, but this will be my first complete story. Woo. I'm so enthusiastic. **

* * *

><p><strong>TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD: A CONFESSION? <strong>

**A CONFESSION?: CHAPTER VIII**

* * *

><p>"Presea! Presea! Over here!" Genis waved frantically.<p>

Raine, Regal, Presea, Emil, Marta and Genis were playing volley ball, with Genis running to the far back. Zelos sat off to the side on a chair next to Sheena, wearing a pair of sunshades. The Mizuhoian ninja had spread a blanket out on the sand, lying back in her swimsuit on both hands and a pair of similar designed sunshades on top of her head.

Presea bobbed the ball a little too hard over Emil and sent it flying, knocking the silver-haired boy over the face and making him fall into the sand with a thud.

"Ow…" he groaned, and Presea kneeled next to him, blinking.

"Total strength required to accurately hit and send the ball to team mates: sixteen percent. Total strength required to hit the ball over the net after passing to team mate: five percent." She patted Genis on the head with a hand. "I'm sorry. Next time I will use less force when hitting the ball, Genis."

He looked up at the girl, sand grains covering his face, and she stared back at him blankly.

Presea was wearing a two piece black bikini outfit with a pink outlining covering the seams and stitches of it. Her toes were exposed by the sandals she wore and she wiggled them slightly in the sand.

Genis blushed, jumping up quickly and backing away.

"N-no, that's not it at all!" he blurted. "I… I just got distracted!"

Presea tilted her head.

"By what?" Emil asked.

"There shouldn't be anything around to interfere with progress of the game, Genis," Presea said.

Raine laughed. "Poor Presea. Still clueless as ever."

The teacher wore a two piece bikini outfit as well, a rather elegant top decorated in a dark navy with green outlining covering the seams. She wore the same colored shorts for the bottom part, and had a straw hat fashioned safely behind her.

Regal coughed. He wore a simple pair of blue shorts and a muscle shirt, not bothering to wear any sandals since he rather liked the feel of the hot sand.

"Young love… keep it close, and someday it will blossom…" he said.

Marta sighed in a dreamy manner. "Oh, you're so right Regal." She stared in a daze at Emil from afar, who had beads of sweat forming onto the back of his head. "That's why my Emil and I are always close… we'll be together forever…"

Raine and Regal backed away a little from her, watching hearts somehow magically form onto her eyes.

* * *

><p>"Woo hoo!" Lloyd screamed, running out to the beach with his bag in hand. He finally settled on a pair of red swim shorts and a black shirt from Zelos along with a pair of sandals. "Hey guys!" He waved, and Raine and Regal waved back.<p>

Colette flowed from behind, hanging on to her straw hat with a single hand.

"Finally! It's really time for vacation!" she chirped. "I'm so excited!"

"No kidding!" Lloyd said. "What the heck should we do first?"

"Lloyd!" Regal called, and gathering their things, they hurried to meet with everyone else.

"I need to speak to you regarding a certain matter, about the Lezereno Green Tower…"

"Yeah?" Lloyd said.

"It seems that when you ended up cutting it in half to free our friend the other day, extensive damage was dealt to the beams…"

Lloyd blanched. "I-Is that so?"

Regal nodded, smiling. "Yes. And most of the damage that occurred was dealt by you. We had only needed to cut some of the beams, rather than destroy nearly the entire tower. It cost the Lezereno Company quite a bit to make the necessary repairs."

Presea bunted the ball over the net, watching it land on the other side. "At the very least, it would have been appreciated if you would have waited until George and I escaped…" She hit the ball again after Marta's return, the brunette screaming "Take that!" in the process, and continued, "…from the tower. I was forced to drag him down along a flight of several stairs to get out before it collapsed."

Lloyd sweat-dropped. "Uh… Yeah! I'm sorry about that! I just… I got caught up in the moment!"

Regal pulled out a small notebook. "Yes. That's understandable." He flipped through some pages, clicking a pen. "The total cost of damages amount to about…. oh…" he trailed off in thought for a moment, calculating and moving his finger in the air, "one billion, seven hundred sixty-three million, eight hundred forty-five thousand, three hundred gald. That's all."

Lloyd nearly fell flat on his face. "Holy…!"

"My dad doesn't even make that much money…" Marta said, moving her body to the side. "And he runs an entire army!"

"Wow Lloyd," Colette said. "That's a lot of money! How are you going to pay that back?"

Lloyd laughed nervously. "H-hey now… help me out, Colette! You helped destroy that thing too, right?"

Colette only smiled, and somehow, Lloyd knew he was on his own. "Zelos?" he asked hopefully, and the chosen shrugged.

"You're my bud Lloyd, you know that. But I'm not gonna go bankrupt for you. I need munny for my hunnies!" he exclaimed, and Lloyd sighed.

"Don't worry," Regal said. "I've set up a special arrangement for you to pay the funds back." He held up a Klonoa outfit out of nowhere. "You can take Presea's place. It's almost time for her vacation."

Raine grinned, butting the ball out. "My, I hope Colette taught you to speak Klonoaian, Lloyd."

"Good luck, Lloyd," Presea said. "It's a tough job."

"Aw, Man!" Lloyd yelled, messing his hair up. "This totally sucks!"

Everyone laughed collectively at the swordsman.

* * *

><p>A figure approached the group of friends slowly, making timid foot prints into the sand with her sandaled covered feet. They turned their heads, catching sight of a small red-headed girl dressed in a simple yellow swimsuit top and dress, with a white and brown beach sarong wrapped around her waist.<p>

"Seles!" Sheena waved, sitting up. "It's about time!"

"Seles!" Colette yelled, tackling fiercely with a hug, almost making her topple over onto the sand.

"H-hey Colette… You're going to make me fall, hehehe…" She hugged back, before letting her go.

"Yo, Seles." Zelos waved a hand. "Looking good."

"Well," she said. "I suppose this will do."

"Yeah!" Lloyd piped up. "It looks awesome!"

Seles turned red-faced. "R-really?" she asked flustered, and Zelos sighed. When he gave her complements, it didn't faze her, but he guessed with Lloyd, it was a whole different game.

Emil jumped up. "Now that we're all here, how about some food?"

"You can cook Emil?" Marta asked.

Emil pointed a finger at himself. "Of course. I'm not that good at it, but I can make a mean barbeque!"

Marta latched onto him again, squeeing. "That's the manliest thing I've heard yet! I love you, Emil!" She squeezed him even tighter, nearly choking him again.

"H-hey, I'm holding a spatula!" he said, squirming in Marta's death grip.

"As long as it isn't Raine's cooking, I'll eat anything," Genis said, and Raine glared knives at him. He shrunk, hiding behind Regal.

Sheena stood up from her resting place. "You all need to try some Mizuhoian cuisine too. Maybe we can all make something together."

Regal nodded. "That's a good idea."

"I can go back and have Sebastian grab a few things we may need from my mansion," Zelos said. "We'll need a pit, food to cook obviously, and a few other things."

Raine agreed. "It's settled then. If you need help Zelos, I can accompany you."

Zelos perked up. "My gorgeous super ultra cool beauty wants to help me? I'm flattered."

"Just don't let her touch the food," Genis said offhandedly, and Raine smacked him over the head, dragging him along with her and Zelos.

"Um… Lloyd?" Seles asked, and Lloyd looked to her, puzzled.

"Yeah? What's up Seles?" he asked.

"Can you come with me for a second? Up on the stand over there?" She pointed to the stairs leading to the upper area on the beach where a table sat, along with the rails.

"Sure," he replied.

* * *

><p>"So what'd you want to talk about up here?" Lloyd asked, grabbing a hold of the rails from above.<p>

"Uh… well…" Seles began, "It's an awkward question…"

"Ask away," Lloyd said.

"How um…" Seles messed with her outfit a little. "How did you come to know my brother?" she asked. "I mean, he's very lazy… doesn't really seem to care about much… he ignores the duties required of him… and he has a tendency to flirt with basically everything he sees. I find it very strange that you can be acquainted with someone like him and not become completely insane."

Lloyd laughed. "Well, I can't argue with you there. Pretty much everything you said about him is true. Zelos is just that kind of guy that when you look at him, you really think you've got him all figured out. But he really is a dependable guy."

Seles smiled.

Lloyd threw a fist into the air. "He always says, 'Just trust me!' and when does, I just get that feeling that you really can, you know?"

Seles sighed. "I think so. My brother is always confusing to me though. I don't think I'll ever come to understand how he thinks. Sometimes, I can't even tell if he cares about the things I do."

"He does. He may not show it, but he really does. Heh, I've learned that first hand and it kinda got on my nerves."

Seles chuckled.

"People have different ways of showing they care. Colette shows it by apologizing way too much, Sheena shows it by smacking people over the head, and Marta shows it by just hugging people."

"What about you, Lloyd?" Seles asked, moving a little closer to him.

"Me? Well… I'd say by looking after the people I care about most, looking after them and making sure that every day they're happy."

"You really care that much for everyone? All of your friends?"

Lloyd nodded. "Of course I do, I love these guys, and I show that to them by doing just that. I'll keep protecting them for as long as I can, no matter what."

Seles laughed again, and Lloyd looked puzzled.

"What?" he asked.

"Well… I guess that's a confession, isn't it?" she smiled at him, her red locks swaying lightly in the breeze.

Lloyd stammered. "W-What do you mean by that?" The warrior's face turned a deep red, but he didn't bother to cover it up, for fear of making it a little too obvious.

"You protected me, didn't you?" Seles looked away, kicking at the ground. "And on more than one occasion…"

Lloyd looked to be in thought. "Oh yeah! I guess I did, didn't I?" He grinned. "Well, how about that?"

Seles looked back at him, grinning in the same manner. "Don't worry though, I won't tell Zelos."

They both laughed.

A blonde came running up the stairs to the chatting couple, panting and breathing heavily. She looked up, waving to them again.

"Hey Lloyd! Seles!" Colette said, gasping for breath. "We're about to start cooking. Can you give us a hand?"

Seles smiled. "I'd be happy to, Colette."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, same here!" He grabbed his bag. He followed Seles and Colette from behind, shaking his head while the two held hands and ran down the stairs together.

* * *

><p>"All right!" Genis said, wearing a chef's hat and standing beside Regal who wore one as well. "We're ready to start!"<p>

Lloyd rummaged through his bag, setting it down the sand and digging in it. He pulled out a rather strange package, inspecting it.

Colette peaked over his shoulder to get a look. "What is that Lloyd?"

"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "My dad gave it to me and told me not to open it till we all got here."

Sheena jumped up. "Well, we're here! Open it up and let's see what's inside! If dirk made it, it has to be good."

Emil sat down next to them, aside from Marta. "Wonder what's in it?"

"Well, here goes!" Lloyd undid the ribbon and the knot that held the package together and took a peak. Something sizzling could be heard, and a small bright light twinkled in the box.

"That's pretty!" Colette exclaimed, looking at the box closely.

Genis blinked. "Why does it sound like that though?"

Raine stared wide-eyed. "Is that a…"

Zelos stepped back, grabbing Sheena and Seles. "…a bomb?" he blurted.

"Ahhh!" Lloyd screamed, throwing the box and grabbing Colette, hoisting her into his arms. "Ah!" she yelped. Presea stared at the box blankly, before Regal and Genis grabbed her by the arms, dragging her away.

Marta watched Lloyd and Colette for a moment, then turned to Emil. "Save me, Emil!" Marta cried, leaping into his arms in the same manner as Colette. Emil didn't have time to complain, so he lugged her away from the box quickly, grunting.

A loud exploding sound was heard in the distance, followed by a crackle. Lloyd screamed over the noise.

"What's up with that?" he hollered, still holding Colette in his arms. "My dad was so upset that he couldn't come with us he tried to get rid of me?"

"Lloyd, look! Fireworks!" Colette pointed to the sky, and his eyes followed her finger. Another crackle. Bright colorful lights filled the sky, bursting and dispersing.

Everyone watched. It certainly was a sight to behold. Lloyd seemed to recall something Dirk had told him not too long ago.

"_Dwarven Vow number one-hundred seventy eight: Keep your friends close, form bonds stronger than the hardest of steel, and never let them break."_

After a moment, he set Colette down and looked around. All of his friends were here with him. Those bonds he formed, the ordeals he had been through, the friendship he shared, the memories made, all of them were here. They would never break, would they? He always wanted to keep it that way. No matter where they were, or how far apart they would be, they would always be his dear friends.

Colette looked at Lloyd out of the corner of her eyes, worried. He had a strange expression on his face. "Are you okay Lloyd?"

"Yeah…" he replied, watching still. "But I can't help but wonder… what would have happened if I opened that box while I was changing in the bathroom?" He cringed. "It probably would have exploded!"

* * *

><p>Dirk scratched his head, rummaging through a pile of what seemed to be nothing more than junk.<p>

"Blast it! Where on earth did I put that note? I coulda sworn I'd taped it to the back of the box." He sighed, scratching his beard, and Noishe barked in response. "Knowing Lloyd, the lad 'll probably open the box in the bathroom or something!" He laughed heartily. "Oh, boy! I wish I could take a picture of that, eh Noishe?"

Noishe barked again, and Dirk stepped back in surprise. "Where'd you come from anyway? I coulda sworn you were with Lloyd when he left…"

* * *

><p>Lloyd balled his fists. "Man, Dad really doesn't think at all, does he? He's probably laughing about it right now!"<p>

Colette giggled. "Just enjoy it for now, Lloyd."

Lloyd relaxed. "Yeah… you're right." He watched another set of fireworks blast into the sky.

"Wow…" Colette gasped, with Lloyd standing next to her, "I wonder if Kratos can see them from here, too."

"Yeah…" Lloyd whispered, starting off into another world, "Can you see them too…Dad?"

In the darkest parts of space, on a planet far away, a lone swordsman stood atop a single slab of rock that floated silently into the purple nothingness. He ran a hand through his auburn hair, crossing his arms.

"I can see them too, Lloyd…"

* * *

><p><strong>FIN<strong>

**Author's Note:**** And that's the finale. **

**I hope it was enjoyable to you all, because I certainly got a kick out of it myself. This is now the first story that I've completed. I've still got a writing itch, so who knows what I'll write next. Thanks all for reading my story. Until next time.**


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